RobbieG

Yes, there are worse things, although it is important to distinguish the difference between putting millions into one of my funds and giving me millions. I hope to one day achieve the latter, but in the meantime the former will have to do, which basically means that they are never my millions and I have to sweat out the risk in exchange for a small percentage which I don't get at all unless I win. Good thing I have a postive expectation huh? The alternative is working for free and that will never do... That is why I jest about the genius stuff. A monkey could do what I do. Successful trading is all about quatification of risk. That is it. Forget winning, but how much can I lose on every trade I make? If you know that you can mold a plan that consistently makes money using leverage if the market should happen to move a lot in either direction. Nobody ever knows what any market is going to do and analysis is futile. It took me 20 years to figure that out. Therefore you have to make sure you are available in case it moves, and that you have a way to take advantage of it if it does. I am basically always in if the market moves and if it moves a lot we make a killing. If it doesn't move I don't make any money - but I know exactly how much I will lose. Case in point is this month. We have been shorting the S&P 500 all the way down. Just awesome. It is the motion for me. My aggressive fund made 107% from 10/1 through 10/15. Can you imagine? I hope the world doesn't end, but in the meantime, God bless the financial markets. This volatilty is a market neutral trader's dream. A wet dream... But in all seriousness, the world is very close to ending and I'm dead serious about that. If you think the market crisis is bad, wait until the same thing happens to EVERY currency because the only way to fix the markets is to print money. And in the same way the bill came due for printing leverage on undervalued real estate paper, the bill will come due for our devalued currencies one day and there will be no escape from that stranglehold. Seriously, I'm not kidding - get some ammo ready because we will all be obtaining food at gunpoint when that happens...

Gotta try and look sharp today. Doing the dog and pony show. For those who don't know what that is in my world, it means my partner has identified a new client that wants to put millions into one of my funds and I do a Powerpoint for them that dizzy's them up with quantitative liquor until they finally admit that my partner must have been right when he said I was a genius. God forbid the client would ever find out that my strategies are based on simple gambling principles akin to counting cards in Blackjack, which anyone with an IQ that breaks a hundred could easily do if they knew what they were doing and had some balls. Ah, but then it wouldn't be a dog and pony show would it? Alright then, I gotta go dip myself in radioactive material so I glow real bright thereby adding to the divine effect that my partner is trying to achive. If I look smart and glow during the presentation, surely the new client will think he has found something Godlike... But then it will be Saturday and I'll be back to just being some dumbass wearing a rubber strap again...

OK, that's quite enough Freddy. I'm starting to get bitten by the Rolex bug for about the third time in my life and you are leading the pack of people who are killing me with your enviable collection. Is there any Rolex watch you don't have represented? What is the ount BTW? You must have dozens of Rolex watches mostly gens and frankens, no?

Yeah we get it but that is what I'm trying to tell you. Salary doesn't matter. We are enthusiasts and so there is no coorolation. I'm sure many here would be surprised at how much many members here make in a month and might ask what they are doing here if they earn that much, but the lines are blurred as I said. You can't use salary as a benchmark. There is no coorolation between our incomes and watch buying habits. I'm sure that I don't know any other 911 Turbo owners in my town that knowingly wear replica watches besides me. Moreover, I know of at least two 911 Turbo owners who don't make what I make in a month, and two others that make ten times what I make in a month. See what I mean? All I'm saying is we can't always judge a book by its cover and I'm sure it is no different in France either.

Allow me to join in the wristshot party - my Aquatimer while sitting at the table in my outdoor kitchen...

Well I guess I'm one of your targets being that I have an posted a certain $130,000 car in my garage and the bank didn't give me the money for it either. And yes, I do own more than a few genuine watches as do probably hundreds of members here. In fact, there are more than a few who have both modern and vintage collections well intothe hundreds of thousands in value. But the point is that most of us are here because this is a better place for watch lovers than ANY genuine forum on the net and that is what keeps us coming back. It is also more fun in many cases to embark on the experience of building up and modding a great replica watch. I'm about to do a vintage Rolex 1680 Submariner project and as always the journey will be the destination. Could I find and buy a genuine vintage Rolex? Sure, but building the rep will be much more satisfying. It isn't about being cheap or not knowing how to spend your money. That said, I have made some gen purchases of watches that there are excellent reps of that probably make no sense to others, but to each his own. If you are going to get along well here I would suggest you try and understand that we are all watch lovers first. That is what is cool about this place. You can't judge a true watch nut by his cover. Now over on TZ, you may find a more even scale that measure how much dough a guy has by looking at his collection. My SAT's in English were kind of low and I'm just a dumb trader who gambles for a living, but my vocabulary doesn't have to be good to know that the only antagonsim in this thread seems to be coming from you brother. To each his own...

I had actually forgotten the reason myself and had to get a refresher. The reason Rolex uses gold for all its hands was actually born out of the Tritium era of luminous material. Rolex switched to using either its own white or yellow gold hands because if they didn't, small amounts of the luminous materials would cause spotting or pitting on the hands over time. They found it impossibel to keep this from happening as it couldn't even be seen under magnification during lume application. Just the smallest particle would lurk on a hand and then show up corroded one day. Even though they no longer use radioactive luminous materials, the idea stuck and they still use gold to this day - and they still don't corrode. That is why you will notice that many vintage Rolex watches will have pitted or rusted hands... Also FYI, Rolex has their own foundry and makes their own gold ores. Of particular interest is Rolex white gold. Most white gold has to be continually dipped over time in rhodium to maintain its color. Rolex makes a special ore that uses both platinum and palladium to "fix" the color of its WG without having to plate it in rhodium. Similarly, Rolex created a special rose gold ore that uses a special copper blend to get its amazing color and then uses platinum to "lock" in the color forever. Whichever Rolex gold one prefers, there is simply noone in the insutry that does gold better than Rolex. No other watch maker can afford to make their own ores so it isn't surprising that Rolex is the "best" in this area...

This: On this strap: And this: Still on the new rubber. It is just so great and I can't believe I waited this long to get one for it:

Nice piece Pug. Hey, different lighting on this shoot. Certainly atypical setups for your style. What are you doing differently. It looks like you are experimenting with fill flash or something?

So if I get the sum of what most of you seem to be suggesting, if I simply start with an MBW watch, put a gen crystal crown and tube in it, trim the CG's, have the rep dial get a vintage relume I will be more than happy and the only other consideration would be whether to get a gen bracelet? How bad is the rep bracelet? Finally, what about scratching/aging the rest of the parts to match the dial?

With any project, I think I would like to go as far as gen parts and bracelet but certainly not a gen case or movement. If a gen dial makes the watch I would like that. That said, I decided I don't want an SD so my other choice would be a white 1680. So that said, in my mind I'm thinking that this is how far I would go: MBW case gen crystal gen crown bracelet - is the rep OK and if not can one find gens at all? rep dial - aging/lume aging? and the big question which is the datewheel - what are the options here for a more gen-like DW? Please fill in thoughts as to what you would do/be concerned about if you were doing this 1680 project with my goals in mind and what you anticipate the cost to be if I have to pay someone to do the work if I get the parts. Thanks again guys...

And I may have to buy it for vanity sake since it was based on my photo. Seriously, I'm always surprised on what sells and what doesn't around here - actually on TZ too come to think of it. I'll have a watch that I think is going to go like hotcakes and it sits and yet something I was ready to take a beating on and just blow out comes under a bidding war in the first five minutes. Go figure...

Yeah Pho, I missed this as I wouldn't normally go there. Man that blue looks like it was made for that BCE. Actually, they are all literally the best choice for any of the pieces shown there IMO. Wouldn't change a thing...

So what do you guys think about the 5512 idea?

No problem. Better that it has more attention drawn to it anyway. Not many know that about Rolex watches and it is kind of an interesting little tidbit. Actually, they have a reason for using gold for hands. Anyone know what that reason is? Trivia time...

In in perfect world I would like to do a 5512. I know Lani has a 5513. Can good parts/cases/dials be found for these?

Yes, Z. The gold hands were in there too. For the record, I just found that out not too long ago myself...

Hi Guys, I have finally realized that I want to embark on a vintage Rolex project and I need some guidance. First let me say that I don't intend to do the mods myself, so I will need to either accumulate the parts myself and then have someone assemble it for me, or sort of commission someone who enjoys it to do it all for me for a fee (I'll pay great for this if anyone is interested!) Anyway, Here are my thoughts: It will be a Rolex of some kind - either a Sub or SD. I guess I would prefer to have a watch with a glass crystal as opposed to plexi. I have two sort of broad ideas. I think most people tend to build stuff that looks aged and I may do that, but I may go the other way too and maybe build something as more of a NOS homage to a watch that is clearly a replica creation of what it would have been like if I bought it new and put it in a safe for years. Obviously, this way saves a lot of time and effort in aging parts/lume, etc. I suppose if I went in the NOS direction, the plexi crystal is more on the table for me. Then again, I may go the aged route, but it would have to go all the way in that department. In other words I don't want it to be incomplete in any way - like aging everything and then still having stark white lume or something. So having said all that I wonder what watch you would choose and why and what your suggestions would be for getting parts, choosing a modder/assembler, etc. P.S. I would especially love to hear what Tribal & Ubi & Freedy & Lani & Stephane and any other vintage modders/owners that I didn't already mention but am forgeting off the top of my head. Thanks in advance to any who can help as I am a total neophyte regarding vintage Rolex. Figure out what someone who knows nothing knows and then divide that by two and you have me. LOL... Oh, and do post LOTS and LOTS of pics please. Thanks, Rob

Yes, I'm sure that is true Freddy. Dress Rolex watches in particular always draw attention for some reason. The only reason it was only the waitstaff last night is because there was noone else in the room. But that not withstanding you are more than right. DJ = rubbernecking. Obviously, my particular DJ is high on the shine scale as a function of the bracelet style and dial choice, but certainly the design itself is a huge part of it. I think it is especially interesting because even people who don't know watches (as I once didn't also) are drawn to Rolex's subconciously. They can't see from across a room that it must be a really nice watch. The DJ/DD design just oozes affluence for some unknown reason. Even if you take the logo and print off the dial it would still do that. It hardly makes sense at 36MM but the phenomenon is real. The little bugger draws more attention than any PAM or UN, or Breitlings which are much larger and even blingier in many cases. And the understatement is part of it. The fact that it is relatively small and still literally launches itself off the wrist and into the retinas of onlookers burning them in the process is amazing to me. LOL. So it is the design itself, along with certain design choices (metals, finishes, etc.) that make those designs "pop" more that pulls the whole package together. I know from being close to it that I'm being totally objective in this next statement. I have a lot more expensive pieces in my collection and certainly ones with much more presige to fellow WIS, and it has nothing to do with the status of the brand, but when I want to look and feel like a million bucks I reach for the little DJ. So I agree with you Freddy, if you are saying that it is the watch itself that makes a statement and not that it is a Rolex, i.e. the brand itself that makes the statement...

This one, carried over from last night. A story about that here: http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showtopic=85001

Last night I was out to dinner with my fiance' and another couple and we were at my favorite steakhouse here in town. Actually, it is another story, but I am a real steakhouse connoisseur, and in my travels I have eaten at over 300 high end houses in the States alone. Anyway, this particular place is owned by one of my clients and we were seated in this special table in the wine room which can be seen from the main dining area as it has a glass wall on one side. It is the only table in there. As I often do with long sleved dressy shirts, I was wearing my Datejust with the sleves very slightly rolled up just past the wrist. The wine room has these cool low voltage fixtures overhead that sort of illuminate the space kind of like a jewelry store does - in a way which accentuates the shine of watches with that slightly non-direct diffusion. No wonder I love sitting in there! I have had many, many meals in that room and have had the opportunity to observe what many watches, mine and others, look like in that flattering light. But I have to say that my Datejust just looked as rich as I have ever seen anything look, which is the point of the post. I guess I never realized it before, but nothing - and I do mean nothing, shines like Rolex steel, gold and glass. It is just uncanny, but you have to see many watches in the lighting conditions I have described to really get it. Many don't know this but all Rolex applied numerals and hands on Datejust's and Day Date's are made of gold, and both that and the 904 steel just have this amazing color and finish that just can't be captured in any photo that I have ever seen. The restaurant is a typical high end place with a four man per table server team and every one of them just couldn't stop staring at my watch. It sort of became the joke of the night at our table to see if when I spoke we could actaully get a server to look at me instead of the watch. You kind of had to be there, but it was really funny. Anyway, it would seem like any polished and brushed metal from any world class watch brand would all kind of look the same, but it really doesn't. Nothing shines like a Rolex shine...

You are dead on about the AR. The gen PO AR for some reason is just magical combined with the dial texture. That and the contrast of the polished steel on the edge of the hands and the bezel insert contrasting with the polished edges of the case just make the watch pop at every angle. The more diffused the light, the better. To this day, I sometimes just stare at it in my dressing room passing the full length mirror. So rich looking and the AR has a LOT to do with it. Sometimes it isn't the AR itself but more that the AR draws your attention to other elements in certain ways...

Yeah, I figured as much but I thought I would ask...

You have some great pieces my friend. Impeccable taste always and an eye for the unique. Which is your favorite watch BTW?